Casandra Martin

I spotted the small bush tucked up next to the side of the church building. Evening was crawling across the sky, its velvety darkness blanketing the world below. I looked at the purple blossoms and grinned. Lilacs are my favorite flower.

I grew up around lilacs. Every spring, the heavy perfume would scent the spring air of my childhood home. I really didn’t appreciate their beauty or miss their aroma until I moved south. While there is much lush beauty on the Gulf coast of Texas, there are no lilacs.

I inhaled the heady smell, savoring the moment. One of the ladies I was with saw my delight and reached over to pluck a small branch from the bush. “Take it to your hotel room,” she encouraged. I held the purple gems like a treasure. I counted the blessings in each little flower.

Creating a makeshift vase, I proudly put my lilacs on center stage in my room. A small touch of beauty in the impersonal world of travel. I smiled and enjoyed the gift.

It didn’t take long. Settled in with my book, my head came up as I noticed a change in the room. The hotel “smell” was gone. Perfume drifted across the space, filling the air with its aroma. One small sprig of lilacs changed everything.

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” – 2 Corinthians 2:15

My Jesus Resolution is to remember the lesson of the lilacs. The lilacs didn’t change who they were because they stood in a different place. They didn’t try to be more or less than who they are. Lilacs are lilacs. They share the perfume God gave them with anyone who will take the time to notice their sweet aroma. Their presence alters the space they inhabit, just by being there. Being a Christian is a lot like being a lilac. A sweet aroma, a deep beauty, flows from being transformed by Christ. If we let it, the fragrance of His presence can change a room, a relationship, and even our most sin-soaked realities.